NaNoWriMo 2013

I continue to take my “jump in with both feet” attitude seriously. I’m going to do NaNoWriMo this year. I’ve put it off the last 2 years because the timing (right after 31 Days of William Morris) is horrible. I put it off the year before that because I was chicken. The site has been down for maintenance the last few days in preparation for November 1st, so in case that link doesn’t work and you don’t know what NaNoWriMo is, basically you write everyday (anything you want) with a goal of 50,000 words by November 30th. The idea is to write a book in a month.

November 30 is my 41st birthday, which is apropos of nothing.

Do I have a plan? No. Plot? No. Characters? Genre? Theme? No. No. No.

I do have prompts! A friend of mine sent me five pages of writer’s prompts. I figure I’ll take one of them and write until I’m done. I’m not looking for a book at the end. My only goal for the month is to get back into the habit of writing fiction.

My posting here won’t be as regular but after 31 days of posts I’m sure we’re all eager for the break.

Is anyone else doing NaNoWriMo? I mentioned this on Facebook last week and some people were still on the fence. Misery loves company, you know. I went so far as to drag two friends into this mess with me. On Wednesday we chatted on Facebook about some story ideas. November should be interesting.

• 10/29, 5:20pmKendra
Ok ladies. Any more ideas in the writing corner?

• 10/29, 5:26pmJules
Nope! I’m going on a walk right now to think about it. How about you?

• 10/29, 5:26pmKendra
i’ve been tossing around ideas all day
but nothing solid

• 10/29, 5:27pmJules
I think my best bet will be to take a myth or classic and rewrite it. That way the plot is sort of done for me. Heh.

• 10/29, 5:27pmKendra
good idea
but can i just say most 2 most exciting things today
you can now renew ebooks from the library
AND amazon is introducing a program where you can get books you own in the physical world (that you bought from them) for your Kindle for pennies on the dollar
too bad i never buy books LOL
as for NaNo, I’m thinking YA, but not sure if I can pull out anything unique

• 10/29, 5:35pmJules
Doesn’t have to be unique. It has to be 50,000 words.

• 10/29, 5:35pmKendra
LOL true
let’s just be honest here. if i finish, it’ll be a miracle

• 10/29, 5:59pmCarey
Same here, but at least we have company

• 10/29, 5:59pmKendra
btw, just downloaded throne of glass from the library
i have too much to read!

• 10/29, 6:09pmKendra
Jules, I think you should write a YA novel that is based on love at first sight about characters named Eweniq and Zaden. (For those who don’t know, here Kendra is making fun of the fact I almost never like YA, hate inappropriately weird character names, and mock insta-love.)

• 10/29, 7:05pmJules
Brilliant. I’m assuming Eweniq is the girl? I’ll have Zaden sneak into her room at night and watch her sleep, except she doesn’t sleep because she’s half robot. (Her mom married Hal from 2001 Space Odyssey after he Cont-Alt-Deleted his way across Italy, India, and Bali for a year. He found redemption. And love, obviously.)

So Eweniq is a hubot and Zaden is a…jock. Some of the sports things he says and does won’t compute for Ewiniq, but these two kids try to make it work until Mr. Tushman, the computer teacher, finds out Eweniq is a hubot. Now Eweniq and Zaden are on the run, finding safe haven in an underground railroad for hubots sponsored by Staples. It ends with a final confrontation between Eweniq, Zaden and Mr. Tushman in the pens and stationery aisle. Zaden, the jock, uses his quarterback skills to pelt Mr. Tushman to death with a bulk pak of highlighters. That’s the first book.
Done. 50,000 words.

• 10/29, 7:06pmCarey
Awesome- that’s so … Unique
Or eweniq

• 10/29, 7:08pmKendra
I’m in awe. Publish that now

• 10/29, 7:27pmJules
Thanks. It pretty much wrote itself, like most magic. Not to brag, but I’ve already roughed out 4 more books. I’m seeing a 6-part series and a movie franchise.

• 10/29, 7:28pmCarey
Don’t forget the video game tie in and app.

• 10/29, 7:30pmJules
Line of greeting cards. *hint-hint.

• 10/29, 7:30pmKendra
I’ll photograph your cover. I can see it now *wavy dream sequence*
A hubot and hunky post pubescent hunka burning love (with half football jersey and rock hard abs), backdropped by the smoldering remains of a post apocalyptic football field and goalpost

• 10/29, 7:32pmJules
YES. Can you make sure Eweniq has a plug, preferably in the back of her neck? She needs to recharge since she can’t sleep, like a Prius. I want to make sure everyone understands she’s a hubot.

You so get my vision, Kendra.

• 10/29, 7:32pmKendra
With the tag line “he only wanted to play ball. Love just wasn’t in the ‘program'”

Jules, if you want some inspiration for myth retelling (and proof that not all YA is schlock) you’ve got to check out Radiant Darkness. I met the writer (Emily Whitman) at a writers’ conference when the book was still a manuscript. It’s a YA novel I think you’d like–a retelling of the Persephone myth. You can probably get it through your library. Just read the first chapter. Not that your own idea isn’t very ewenique. And stuff.

And go for it with NaNoWriMo! One of my students did it a few years back–it was a great experience for him.

I will definitely check that out! Thank you for the recommendation. You know, it’s not that I don’t like YA. I think when it’s good, it’s excellent. One of my most anticipated sequels (due out November 19th!) is a YA book. What I see is a lot of repetition. I don’t know if that’s because the market is saturated or what, and really it doesn’t matter. What matters is that these kids are reading.

Amen to that last sentence, sister! I personally hate The Boxcar Children (as a reader). Boring, formulaic, fake, dated. But those books turned my daughter into a reader, so I also love them (as a mom/teacher). We’re getting ready to do some book purchasing for our libraries, and it will pain me to buy some of that schlocky YA stuff–but we will be buying it because the kids love it.

I’m curious what your “highly anticipated sequel” is! Along those lines, have you read Allegiant yet? I’m wondering what your take on it would be. And, like everyone else, I’m looking forward to reading whatever you write and decide to share. Glad you are taking on a writing project. The world needs more talented, funny, intelligent writers!

Haha! If they’re worried about me taking the ball and running with it, they should have NO FEAR. Although, in that same chat I later suggested that we all try and write the most outlandish plot possible so that it’s fun and stress free. I’m pretty sure a Staples underground railroad for hubots fits the bill.

I say I want to do it, but I’m taking my GRE in a little over a week and I just can’t seem to pull the trigger on it this year but I’ll live vicariously through you and your awesome YA ideas. And Sweet Valley High as erotica? Is it wrong that I think that pretty much could write itself?!?

Now I want to read 50,000 words about the three of you trying to plot your hilarious novel ideas throughout NaNoWriMo. Maybe something goes sideways; maybe you come up with these completely bizarre ideas that start coming impossibly true; maybe you go out on crazy adventures as part of your research. I don’t know, I’m not the writer – you are!

Just did the math. 50K words in a month = 1700 words a day. Eek! Since I write long-handed onto yellow tablets, not sure I can handle that. But good for you; I have no doubt that you’ll tackle this handily.

I would give you one million dollars to write 30 days of these stories.
Caveat: I do not have one million dollars.

The point is, the story you outlined was HILARIOUS! Maybe to get started on NaNoWriMo you should just do a bunch of completely ridiculous short stories. Bad SciFi, Really Bad Young Adult, Really Bad New Age, Really Bad Historical (OMG that would be genius), Really Bad Biography, Really Bad P0rn (I saw this guy he was dressed really attractively and I thought I would not mind doing the horizontal mambo with him but then my latté was ready and so I added some cinnamon to it and I went home and watched Columbo does anyone know what happened to his overcoat? Anyway this is my story about that guy, he was hot. Maybe you had to be there.), Really Bad Horror (this one time at summer camp all these people got dead and they caught the guy and it was the head counsellor actually his name was Bob and he got the help he needed), Really Bad Journal Entries (HAYLO FANDOM, today we’re gonna glitter erasers for Christmas using asbestos to make them flame retardant, this is a craft you can do at home with your kids. First, find some asbestos….), really bad romance (PIRATE COWBOYS IN EYE PATCHES WHO WEAR LEATHER JACKETS, RIDE MOTORCYCLES, AND WILL GIVE IT ALL UP FOR A MINIVAN), Really Bad Serious Fiction (use big ten dollar words), and Really Bad VCR Instructions.

One million dollars. I’ll have to kickstarter it, but whatever. Start writing, I’ll handle the details.

Later on in the same chat (which I included but the deleted because I thought it was getting to long and zzzzzzz) I said that we should try and write the most outlandish, insane plot ever and just have fun with it.

Kendra’s friend thinks I should move forward with Eweniq and Zaden. Hah! I’m not so sure since I have to keep referring back to the chat to see how to spell Eweniq.

I’ve done NaNo before. I know I can’t swing it this year because I’m going out of town for four days, hosting Thanksgiving, and have my son’s swim meets to tackle all in the same month… plus I’ve promised myself that my latest project is working on learning German. Don’t ask how I’m doing that. (Hint: It’s not Rosetta Stone and it does involve a novel that was originally published in German.) Good luck and keep us posted on word count!

Also, I met Elizabeth Gilbert the other night. Her advice was really good in regards to writing fiction for the first time: “Write every day, so that when you don’t write for a couple of days you know that something is missing.”